Category Archives: Movie Review

Crazy Licks or: Many Kisses (Part 3)

18 Tuesday Sep 2018

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Salutations™!!

Here’s the second post today! And yes, this is verbose as was the last.

The month of September is a huge month for KISS fans, even if they don’t know it. Why you may ask? Because the month of September is the anniversary month for the releases of TEN KISS albums. I’ve talked about Alive!, Animalize and Asylum. But, like I said in the last post, September 18 is a doozie and talked about the four solo albums that were released 40 years ago, today.

Lick_it_up_cover

©Mercury Records

In 1983, Lick It Up was released on this day and also that night Gene, Paul, Eric and Vinnie Vincent showed up on MTV and showed their faces publicly, at least as KISS, without the makeup. It was a weird transition for them, even if they say it wasn’t. Look at that interview and tell me that Gene doesn’t look uncomfortable as he says through his big white grill that it feels good… Uh huh. I think Vinnie looks uncomfortable all the time. Paul seemed the most natural. Eric was just there. Then look at the video for “Lick It Up” and tell me they look comfortable. Gene can’t figure out how to act. His professional career had always been under some kind of disguise. He’s not the most handsome man, truthfully, but really, were any of them? Nah.

Lick It Up, though, was a big breakthrough for the band. It was their chance to bring the people back into the KISS Army coming off the heels of Creatures of the Night, which saw the departure of Ace, even though he was on the cover, he played nary a note on the album. Several guitarists played in his stead on that album and one of those was Vinnie Vincent. Creatures was the rebirth KISS was looking for. It wasn’t quite KISS, but a harder rock version of KISS. I think Creatures is one of their heaviest albums in the entire KISS Katalog. But, they did that under the hidden comfort of their makeup-laden personas.

Truly, the band incognito had run its course. It was time for a new approach. Gene said in his book Kiss and Make-Up that Paul had talked him into unmasking. He was still apprehensive but Paul explained that the makeup had become a stigma and more people knew the characters than they did the musicians and the music, whether people want to admit it or not, was judged more on the makeup than on the merits of the music and songs. I was only 12 when this came out and I was aware of that fact. And, I’m ALL about the show. So, what to do? New direction with the music on the album before, let’s try a new direction in image, as well. I think it worked.

This album was pretty heavy and at times, mean. From the harmonics-driven intro of “Exciter” on to the fade of “And on the Eighth Day,” the album was a non-stop auditory assault. Paul also showed a whole new vocal style starting with this album. He started singing a little different on Creatures but from Lick It Up on, he sang higher, as did Gene, with more power and with more confidence. In fact, I think this album has Paul’s most powerful tone and timbre.

Gene really changed up his singing from just gruff to high and gruff. I can’t sing most of his non-makeup songs and I sing pretty high. The band also started aiming for the “metal” crowd instead of the “kids and rock-n-rollers.” Eric’s drumming was more volatile as well. He pounded the crap out of the drums. I found I was at the same time longing for and also glad they dismissed the drum sound employed on Creatures. It was an awesome sound but it was also overpowering.

Much of what made this album heavier was Vinnie’s playing. He was all about flash and speed and less about feel. But, I think that bled over onto Paul’s style, as well. Paul’s parts were heavier than the KISS we knew. There were no ballads or slower songs on this album. Speaking of songwriting, this marked the first time that there were no outside writers on a KISS album.  People have a hard time believing that, but from the first album (which had a cover – and yes I know the original didn’t have that cover), the second and third rehashed Wicked Lester songs, and so on. Plus, people forget that Vinnie was “in the band” at one time.

This is one of my favorite KISS albums, although it didn’t start that way. I never really noticed it being a “different KISS” until much later. KISS was KISS was KISS to me. I get it now, but I was blinded at the time. As tired of the title track I am, I still love it. We used to do it in Busted Uncle. It was fun. The only song I really don’t care for is “Gimme More” and even that is a pretty good song. The one that all my friends hate is one of my favorites on this album, “Dance All Over Your Face.” I don’t know why but I just dig the heck out of it.

This was the first album that I got on cassette and not on vinyl. So, the copy I have now (180g brand new) is the first time I’ve ever had it on vinyl.

Crazy_nights_album_cover

©Mercury Records

Now, 31 years ago today KISS released Crazy Nights. It is perhaps the most polarizing of the 80s-era KISS albums. I know a lot of critics, fans and even my friends have labeled it as poppy sugary drivel but I am not one of those. Yes, it is poppier. It’s not quite “hair band” material, but not far from it. Their heavy sound had softened a bit, even though they were on their second album with one of their best guitarists, Bruce Kulick who showed up on the tour for Animalize and played on Asylum. I don’t mind sugary pop, though, as you have read me talking about often, Dear Reader.

I believe part of the deal with the overall tone was that Paul and Gene gave up production duties and just recorded music. But, they were also using outside writers and not the likes of ex-Plasmatics members but with genuine pop music writing heavyweights, Adam Mitchell, Desmond Child, Bruce Turgon, Davitt Sigerson and legend Dianne Warren. On top of that it was produced by Ron Nevison who took over duties from David Foster on Chicago albums, Heart’s Heart and Bad Animals, Europe, Damn Yankees, Survivor and my favorite Ozzy Osbourne album, The Ultimate Sin. What absolutely didn’t help was the incorporation of keyboards (played by Phil Ashley).

I remember buying this album on cassette at Peaches. I knew it was coming out but hadn’t heard anything from it. I put it in the car stereo (in my ’74 Chevelle Malibu Classic’s Craig audio system) and waited. It seemed the leader tape was a bit long, so I turned it up thinking it was low. The opening notes of “whew!” for “Crazy Crazy Nights” scared the bejeezus out of me and I nearly wrecked my car. I loved it, though. That followed by “I’ll Fight Hell to Hold You” and “Bang Bang You,” gave Paul a good three-song start. Nice and poppy.

Then Bruce got to do his thing. He schools us on tapping techniques flawlessly and  Eric joins in with a little double-bass flash. This is “No No No” from Gene. The whole thing is a little hard to follow on the beat because it’s about being fast, I think. The only song that I don’t care for is “My Way” which I think single-handedly shows off the overly-poppy nature that many people see the entire album for. Also, as with Lick It Up, one of my faves on there is the one my friends say they dislike the most on the album, which is “Thief in the Night.” It was covered by Wendy O. Williams (also of Plasmatics fame) on an album that Gene produced which could have actually have been a KISS album.

Is this their best album 80s-era or otherwise? No. It is, however, the 80s-era KISS album that I listened to the most. It was the last original studio album that I actually had a love for and enjoyed without bias. The next album, Hot in the Shade, had plenty of letdowns for me. I don’t mean that I don’t love post-Crazy Nights albums, but up to this point, they could do no wrong. I realized on HITS that they could. Between the two came Smashes, Thrashes & Hits, a greatest hits album. I liked it.

This album also had a lot of unreleased things make it to other artists and box sets and such. The original title of the album was Who Dares Wins. I’m glad they changed that.

What are your thoughts on these two albums, Dear Reader? Are they up your alley or not? If you’re not familiar, why not give them a shot? Let me know what you think.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Baby, now that you’ve made up your mind, I’m gonna let you go, if that’s what it takes to show love is blind. I gave you the best love you ever had, but it wasn’t enough. So, if you think you’re so smart, go and play with your heart. When you walk out the door, you’ll realize what you never did before. A million to one – that’s what it will be. A million to one – there’s someone better than me. A million to one – no, you never will find. A million to one – another love like mine.” – “A Million to One” (Stanley/Vincent)

 

Back in the Swing or: Suspiria

05 Wednesday Sep 2018

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Salutations™!!

I’m apologizing that this post is a) late and b) short. I was still getting acclimated to being back today, Dear Reader. But, whilst I’m sitting here doing my social media posts, and finally fixing my Fire TV, I turned to watching crappy films, as has become the custom for me. This one is from 1977 and I’m really only about 15 minutes into it. But, I chose it because I was caught by the tagline: The Only Thing More Terrifying Than the Last 12 Minutes of This Film are the First 92.

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©Produzioni Atlas Consorziate

It is called Suspiria and is an Italian film but it is overdubbed. It’s clearly crappy 1970s horror with bright red blood, fake looking organs (a heart comes to mind) and bad effects. But, it made me chuckle already so… And, to top it off, it was remade and will be released in November of this year. It is an American film this time starring Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton and Chloë Grace Moretz. And, it’s a true remake, as far as I can tell. I had its debut at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday. Oddly enough, it’s rated 7.5 stars out of 10 on IMDb. The remake has already made it to only 6.x something. And, Rotten Tomatoes has it at 92% Fresh and an Audience Score of 83%. Perhaps it gets better? We’ll see.

Anyway, the plot summary, per my media player, is this: “From the moment she arrives in Friedberg, Germany to attend the prestigious Tans Academy, American ballet-dancer, Suzy Bannion senses that something horribly evil lurks within the walls of the age-old institution.”

Doesn’t that sound lovely? Pffft. It’s entertaining, though. I’m going back to it.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“This is Pavlo, our general handyman. He’s really ugly, isn’t he? Don’t be afraid to say so. Can’t understand you anyway, he speaks only Romanian. You see that gorgeous smile? He’s felt very handsome ever since he got those false teeth.” – Miss Tanner

You’ll Believe a Man Can Fly or: Superman Where Are You Now?

08 Wednesday Aug 2018

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Salutations™!!

As last week, I watched a movie whilst doing my social media posting and such after The Less Desirables show. This wasn’t a clunker like Starcrash. In fact, it’s totally the opposite. This was a fantastic viewing. It was Superman: The Movie (1978).

_Superman_II

©Warner Bros.

I first saw this film in a drive-in theater with my parents in 1978. It was, actually, followed by some adult movie that I apparently slept through. Incidentally, when Supergirl (1984) came out, I saw that at a drive-in, too, but with a friend and his family. I just made that drive-in connection.

Anywhat! I’ve always been into superhero stuff. Movies, comics, stories, magazines, action figures, etc. Superheroes and fantasy things (Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.), really. I have to admit, though, in the comics world, I can’t stand Superman. I think he’s cheesy and too goody-goody and is quite boring. I mean, come on, he’s basically invulnerable except for kryptonite and Doomsday and in the last few decades, magic. He really is an overgrown boy scout.

In all honesty, he is in the movies, too, but it was so entertaining. The special effects were remarkable for their time. This was after Star Wars so everyone stepped up their FX game. Christopher Reeve played the part so well. From clumsy, goofy, awkward as Clark Kent to “manly” Man of Steel as Supes.

Gene Hackman as a comical Lex Luthor was good although I always picture him more as a serious character.

I liked Margot Kidder as Lois Lane but the older I get, the more annoying all her screaming and caterwauling gets. Reminds me of Kim Basinger’s Vicki Vale in Batman (1989). Screaming all the time. Jeez. I also didn’t like the whole “can you read my mind” crap she started “thinking” during the flying scene.

And, former “Little Rascal” and “Our Gang” star, Jackie Cooper as Perry White was cool.

But, add in Marlon Brando as Jor-El and John Williams’ fantastic score and this was a very entertaining film. I loved Superman II (1980), too, although it had a slightly different feel. I think I could write an entire blog post on the drama that went down between many of the principal parties on the filming of Supes II. It’s too much to get into here, though.

I really dug the film and loved revisiting it again. Now I’m going to watch II.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Your name is Kal-El. You are the only survivor of the planet Krypton. Even though you’ve been raised as a human, you are not one of them. You have great powers, only some of which you have as yet discovered.” – Jor-El

Ridiculous Fun or: I Can’t Unsee This…

01 Wednesday Aug 2018

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… And why would I?

I know the title sounds a bit spazzy but the truth is, I sometimes just get in the mood for silly, stupid, ridiculous and horrible films. I love good films but sometimes you just need some mindless stuff to get you through the night, ya know?

_starcrash

©Columbia/New World Pictures

That’s what I’m watching now: silly, stupid, ridiculous and horrible. I’m watching Starcrash (1978). 1978 was after Star Wars (1977) and this was just an attempt to capitalize on the latter’s success. The acting, the plot, the effects were just awful. This goes beyond the fact that a very young David Hasselhoff is in it. The true sadness was a great actor like Christopher Plummer is also in it.

An outlaw smuggler named Stella Star (Caroline Munro) and her alien companion named Akton (Marjoe Gortner) are recruited by the Emperor of the Galaxy (Plummer) to rescue his son (The Hoff) and destroy a secret weapon by the evil Count Zarth Arn (Joe Spinell). There’s also a “robot,” that looks like a cheap Darth Vader, named Elle (which is a guy robot) and it’s voiced by Hamilton Camp who has the most ridiculous “country accent.” It’s not robotic, it’s not even alien. It’s very human. 

I laughed at the total BS that this film was. It kept me laughing throughout my work with social media for The Less Desirables tonight. I appreciate it for that. If I were rating this film, it would only be about a 1 star, but probably 2.5 on the entertainment value.

IMDb rates it 3.9 out of 10. I guess that ratio is about right. Rotten Tomatoes says it’s 33% rotten and the audience score is only 38%.

Here’s what Jeremy Wheeler from Rovi says on Rotten Tomatoes: Italian schlock-master Luigi Cozzi (billed as Lewis Coates here) directed this low-budget Star Wars rip-off in 1978, right when the sci-fi craze was hitting audiences on a world-wide scale. The story begins familiarly enough, with a huge spaceship tracking through an extremely colorful space scene while under attack by some kind of unknown and deadly force resembling a lava lamp. Being no match for the ’60s acid-flashback rays, they manage to jettison a few escape pods just before being blown to kingdom come. Fast forward now to the other end of the galaxy, where we find the best smugglers in town — gorgeous Stella Star (Caroline Munro) and space-pimp Akton (Marjoe Gortner) — outrunning a band of cops on their tail. Eventually, they’re caught, taken into custody, and sentenced to intense Labor Camps, where Stella is forced to wear a skimpy Barbarella-like outfit by the extreme, merciless guards. A break-out ensues, and in the intense laser shoot-out, Stella manages to escape, only to be captured again by the semi-green-skinned Thor (Robert Tessier) and his annoying southern-drawled robot, Elle (voiced by genre veteran Hamilton Camp). Brought in front of the Emperor of the Galaxy (Christopher Plummer) and reunited with Akton, the sexy duo find themselves suddenly in charge of finding Prince Simon (David Hasselhoff). Thus begins the heroes’ amazing adventure through space and time as they search for Hasselhoff and end up fighting Amazons, Cavemen, and the Evil Count Zarth Arn (Joe Spinell) along the way. 

That pretty much sums it up. It’s true crap and I’m glad I watched it. Will I watch it again? Probably not. If you come across it and need a good laugh, check it out.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“You know, my son, I wouldn’t be Emperor of the Galaxy if I didn’t have some powers at my disposal. Imperial Battleship, halt the flow of time!” – The Emperor

Listing or: a New Play

05 Friday Jan 2018

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Salutations™!!

Well, it’s a new year. Last year around the new year, I finished two long-time lists, The Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of All Time and the 400 nominations for the AFI 100 Years… 100 Movies. Again, those were long, drawn-out treks. The movies list took almost nine years and the RS list was a three-year jaunt. Lots of hours spent in that. One day I may add up the run times of each film and each album to see how much time those actually took. I’m really curious.

nme

©NME

 

Then, this past year, I did Eugeology: Eugene’s List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems where Eugene and Jon and I listened to a random list of 50 hard rock albums that Eugene thought were fantastic and perhaps lesser known to everyday music folk. I finished it in almost perfect time. Eugene got somewhere barely over half done and Jon never made it to half. Oh well.

Now, the point is, Dear Reader, you know that I do lists. That’s how I operate. Eug jokes that the only way to get me to do something is to put it on a list or let it involve a streak and watch me burn through it. He’s not far off from the truth, there.

I feel I need to explain this again, but I’m always asked why I have to have lists, why can’t I just listen to stuff? I’ll condense it and say that where I grew up there were no top 40 or pop music radio stations until at least 1982 and at that, it was a limited playlist. We didn’t have MTV and I really had no access to the plethora of music that was out there. My father listened only to what we now know as “classic country” and my mother listened to Leslie Gore and gospel stuff. She isn’t really a “musical person.” I spent most of my time, ages 8 until around 12/13, listening to nothing but KISS. I don’t regret that, but I do wish I had more knowledge of the rest of musicdom.

As I said at the beginning, it’s a new year. And, since I’m out of lists that I was already working on, well, I need another. So, I was looking through some Google searches and came across a few lists but the one that I think is manageable right now is NME’s 101 Albums to Hear Before You Die. I will figure out how to structure the listen. I know for the RS list I did 10 at a time and with Eug’s list we did one a week. I don’t know, just yet, how I’m going to approach it. I know that about half of the albums on that are on the RS list in different spots (obviously) but there are some out there things that I’ve never even heard of. You never know I may find the next Forever Changes (Love), Maggot Brain (Funkadelic) or Berlin (Lou Reed) on this list. Or, I may find the stuff too out there for me and abandon it. We’ll see. I know that NME has a 500 of all time, too. Who knows. I have the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2011 edition) book and there’s a website with the whole list including all editions. You never know I may pick all of those. For now, however, I’m going to say the NME list is what I pick. You’ll see how it works out because I know you read every day, right? Right.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Lists are how I parse and manage the world.” – Adam Savage

The Commitments or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

26 Saturday Aug 2017

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Salutations™!!

a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Movie of the Week, The Commitments (1991), starring Robert Arkins, Glen Hansard and Andrew Strong. 

The_Commitments_poster

©20th Century Fox

 

Per IMDb: “When Jimmy Rabbitte wants to start a band, he has open auditions at his house.”

That’s a pretty minimalist description, really. Jimmy Rabbitte (Arkins) is an early-twenties music fan in Dublin and wants to start a soul band that he can manage. He has friends, guitarist Outspan Foster (Hansard) and bassist Derek Scully (Kenneth McCluskey), who are the foundation and he holds open auditions at his family’s home where his dad, played by one of my favorite Irish actors, Colm Meaney, is a huge Elvis fan and thinks that the whole idea is preposterous: they’re in Dublin, there’s not a lot of “soul” in Dublin.

During auditions, a veteran trumpet player named Joey “The Lips” Fagan (Johnny Murphy) comes and helps direct the band in the right direction. Jimmy thinks that “The Lips” is too old but he soon realizes that Fagan can be beneficial. Jimmy approaches the neighborhood screw-up, Declan “Deco” Cuffe (Strong) to be the singer after hearing him sing at a wedding reception. He approaches his friend Bernie McGloughlin (Bronagh Gallagher) to be a backup singer because he wants her to bring his crush Imelda Quirke (Angeline Ball) along to also be a backup singer. Add in Natalie Murphy (Maria Doyle) into the mix and you have the Commitmentettes. Then, add a drummer, saxophone player and pianist and you have yourself a band. A no-experience-having band (other than Joey “The Lips”) but with some heart. If only the band could get along.

There is turmoil the entire time. Deco gets along with no one, people sleeping with other people, egos and jealousy. All of that. It’s in there. How does the band even survive? Well, you’ll have to watch it to find out the answer to that question.

The only person who didn’t perform their own instrument in the film was Johnny Murphy who played Joey “The Lips” Fagen. But, the rest of the film featured real musicians who played their own instruments.  The setting is gritty and very “blue collar” which was the point. The whole film was gritty. It was, at times, hard to understand what they were saying as the Dubliner accent was very heavy. The realism and human nature of the film came through prominently.

The one musician that I would have liked to have had more time in the sun was Glen Hansard (Outspan Foster). He was the music writer behind the musical and film Once. From that film came the tune “Falling Slowly.” The BCPF is a fan of his and I’ve grown to like what I’ve heard. The film had two soundtracks, which featured the cast recordings of many soul tunes from the 60s on. The first stayed on the Billboard Top 200 for over 70 weeks and reached a peak of #8.

Rotten Tomatoes has it at 88% Fresh with an Audience Score of 90%. IMDb rates it at 7.6 stars out of 10. I watched the film on Netflix and I will rate it 3.75 stars out of 5. It was good, interesting and entertaining but it wasn’t exceptionally moving. Have you seen it? If so, what did you think? What film would you like to read/hear me review?

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I’m black and I’m proud.” – Jimmy Rabbitte

Sausage Party or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

05 Saturday Aug 2017

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a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Movie of the Week, Sausage Party (2016), starring Seth Rogan, Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton and Michael Cera.

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©Columbia Pictures

 

Per IMDb: “A sausage strives to discover the truth about his existence.”

At Shopwell’s Supermarket, there’s a celebration every morning. Every kind of inanimate object you can think of is celebrating because they could be picked by “the gods” to take into paradise. In particular, Frank (Rogan) is a sausage that is sitting right next to his girlfriend, Brenda (Wiig) on a shelf waiting to go into the Great Beyond. They talk about what they’re going to do and it’s pretty graphic. Instead, they just touch “tips.”

Food and grocery items get picked up, one after the other. Beets, peanut butter, jelly, flour, bananas, even a douche gets chosen to take that eternal journey. One item, however, Honey Mustard (UNCSA alum Danny McBride), has been on the outside but is returned and he’s flipping out. He keeps trying to tell everyone that things aren’t what they seem but no one listens. Honey Mustard tries to commit suicide by jumping off the edge of the cart. Frank tries to help him by grabbing his leg. Brenda helps Frank by grabbing his leg (yes the groceries have legs, shoes, gloves, eyes and mouths) and the human woman who is driving the shopping cart crashes into another shopper causing many of the grocery items to topple, including Frank, Brenda, Douche and some flour that clouds the entire area, creating a scene of chaos not unlike that of a building collapse. The humans don’t notice (it seems on purpose) and go on like nothing happened, running over some of the items.

Douche blames Frank and Brenda for causing the accident and for bending his nozzle, also for ruining his chances of “getting up in” the human purchasing him. Douche is picked up by the store janitor and tossed into the trash only to get out of a dumpster and find a dying juice box, which, after he sucks him dry, makes him stronger and powerful. He continues to murder innocent liquids to become even more powerful, searching for Frank and Brenda to exact revenge. Does he find them? Do Frank and Brenda find the truth of the Great Beyond? You’ll have to watch to find out.

This is probably the crudest film I’ve ever seen, especially for a cartoon. Then again, the crudest prior was Team America: World Police which was a big puppet show. The overt sexual innuendo was non-stop. The racial/sexuality/religious/creed stereotypes were embellished and swollen to mega proportions. It was definitely offensive and meant to be that way. All that being said, I loved it. It was hilarious at points, clever the entire time and a very fun movie to watch. I believe that was the point for most of it, how nonpolitically correct could they be? Lots and that’s good. There was definitely understated but definitely present political and social commentary that was spread throughout the entire film. The 9/11 quality of the cart crash was brow-raising but needed to demonstrate the devastation the groceries felt.

The characters were stereotypical but spot on. Perhaps not so much stereotypical but representative? The voice actors gave the characters life and Edward Norton does a great Woody Allen impression. Something else I found funny was that the original music was composed by Alan Menken (Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid) who normally does a lot of Disney-esque fairy tale stuff. That was great. Let’s say the Meat Loaf cameo was pretty great, too.

All in all, I think the film was great. It’s not something to watch with your kids unless your kids are over the age of 15 or so. Entertaining and fun, but as I said, definitely crude. Rotten Tomatoes has it rated at 82% Fresh with an Audience score of only 51%. I don’t know what happened there. IMDb has it at 6.3 stars out of 10. I watched the film on Netflix and I rate it 4.25 stars out of 5. Have you seen it? What did you think? What would you like to read/hear me review?

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“It’s all a lie. Everything you’ve been told, everything you believe in.” – Honey Mustard

Full Metal Jacket or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

22 Saturday Jul 2017

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a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Movie of the Week, Full Metal Jacket (1987), starring Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D’Onofrio, Adam Baldwin.MV5BNzc2ZThkOGItZGY5YS00MDYwLTkyOTAtNDRmZWIwMGRhYTc0L2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjU0OTQ0OTY@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,656,1000_AL_

Per IMDb: “A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.”

I believe I’ve reviewed this film before, and perhaps more than once, but after watching it again with 3B just recently, it renewed my love for it. It’s super violent and shocking, perhaps the most of its kind. A mouthy, wise-cracking journalist goes through boot camp with an unrelenting drill sergeant, a dim-witted and all around screw up of a bunkmate, a violent recourse and of course, the effects of the war’s battlefield itself.

Matthew Modine’s “Joker” doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut, which gets him in some precarious positions in the barracks, with its occupants, with his immediate superiors and the brass that run the government’s military forces. He has to take the fledgling lug under his wing to make sure the rest of the platoon doesn’t suffer the consequences of the unfortunate soldier’s inadequacies. Then, as a journalist, he gets caught up in a conflict which sees heated battle zones become reality. It’s rough and Modine plays the part perfectly.

Modine is listed as the star, but I think the film’s two stars are actually real life drill instructor, retired, R. Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman and Vincent D’Onofrio as Leonard “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence. Ermey’s experience and ad libs were some of the most memorable lines in cinematic history. I can’t really repeat many on here without flying into a ton of obscenities. And, if you’ve not seen the film, then I’d be giving so much away to say how either of them turns out. I’m just going to say that they are both intense.

Stanley Kubrick’s visuals are, in classic Kubrick style, very vivid, both in sets and action. He set the cinematic bar high and often surpassed it on his own. The full crew had their hands full because Kubrick was a perfectionist, but everyone pulled their weight and the end result was amazing. The soundtrack also was intense. If I say much more, then I’ll end up giving stuff away. The film is pretty bad arsed, though.

Rotten Tomatoes rates it at 95% Fresh with an Audience Score of 94%. IMDb has it at 8.3 stars out of 10. I saw it on Netflix, although I own it on DVD and, I believe, Blu-Ray. It’s probably one of my Top 10 and I’m rating it 5 stars out of 5. Have you seen it? What would you like to hear/read me review?

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“This is my rifle. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy, who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. Before God, I swear this creed: my rifle and myself are defenders of my country, we are the masters of our enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen.” – the Recruits

Suntan or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

15 Saturday Jul 2017

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Salutations™!!

a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Movie of the Week, Suntan (2016), starring Makis Papadimitriou, Elli Tringou, Dimi Hart.

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©Oxymoron Films, Marni Films

 

Per IMDb: “On a hedonistic Greek island, a middle-aged doctor becomes obsessed with a young tourist when she lets him tag along with her group of hard-partying friends.”

Kostis is hired to be the sole doctor on a Greek island that is quiet during the winter but in the summer it’s a tourist destination and all the young, beautiful people turn it into their own den of iniquity where just about anything goes. Kostis is going through some stuff in his life and he seems miserable. Whatever it is, most likely is leading him to become part of this island’s life. He goes places and meets locals, including a few lewd ones that he seems to have disfavor for.

The summer comes along and there’s a group of young Europeans on vacation on the island and he’s having to tend to one of them, a young, beautiful and nubile sandy blonde by the name of Anna (Tringou), after she’s injured. She flirts with him, openly and invites him to come to the beach with him. She shows him more and more attention and he starts to like it. Pretty soon, he’s out with them every day and every night. He and Anna get closer, but it seems that he’s getting more attached than she is.

One day she meets up with him separately from the group and has him show her a private secluded beach he told her about the day they met. They go there and Anna makes a move on him. It turns out that he was a little quicker to the finish than he should have been and she laughed it off saying the summer is long and he can make it up to her. They go back into town and she tells him she’ll see him tonight. She doesn’t show that night and he flips out. He starts neglecting patients, closing early or not showing up at all. He is obsessed. Does he snap out of it? You’ll have to watch to see.

First off, you have to be willing to read your movie, unless, of course, you speak fluent Greek. The film has a lot of smiling moments and plenty of dark and dreary moments. It’s romantic and sad, all at the same time. The scenery is amazing, as it’s Greece and Greece, especially in the tourist areas are beautiful. The film won several awards at various film festivals including Edinburgh, Odessa and several at Hellenic Film Academy Awards (in Greece).

The film touches hard on obsession and, as we’ve talked about on The Less Desirables a good bit lately, addiction. Not substance abuse as much as affection codependency. A decent film, it was worth my 90 minutes. Rotten Tomatoes rates it at 76% Fresh and an Audience Score of only 50%. IMDb has it at 6.8 stars out of 10. I saw this on Amazon Prime and will rate it 3.75 stars out of 5. Have you seen it? What did you think? What would you like to read/hear me review? Let me know.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Some bronze. Others burn.” – Tag line for the Suntan.

The Panic in Needle Park or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

08 Saturday Jul 2017

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a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Movie of the Week, The Panic in Needle Park (1971), starring Al Pacino, Kitty Winn, Alan Vint.

Original_movie_poster_for_the_film_The_Panic_in_Needle_Park

©20th Century Fox

 

Per IMDb: “Follows the lives of heroin addicts who frequent ‘Needle Park’ in New York City.”

Helen (Winn) has a very unsanitary and dangerous abortion. Her boyfriend Marco (Raul Julia) sends her on her own. She gets the attention of Bobby (Pacino) and she ends up moving in with him. Bobby proclaims to be a small-time weed pusher but in reality, he’s an H-addict. He tells her that he’s not hooked just chipping. It’s not long before he has her scoring for him. She gets busted by Detective Hotch who knows who she’s associated with. Hotch (Vint) tries to help her over a period of time by attempting to set her right, but she’s not listening.

One night as Bobby is sleeping off a high, Helen tries a hit. She’s hooked from then on. The rest of the film is an up and down, high (literally) and low swing of drugs, prostitution and debauchery. Do they survive as a couple or in life? You’ll have to watch to find out.

This was a very difficult film to watch. Drug use in films is sometimes overly explicit. Roger Ebert said about this film: “Movies about drug addiction are also, sometimes, hung up on the fetishes and compulsions surrounding drugs. If we get a closeup of one needle penetrating the flesh in ‘The Panic in Needle Park,’ we get half a dozen. This is too many; the physical reality interrupts our identification with fictional characters.” Even at this, I think the movies don’t do the horrific act and subsequent effects of drug use, shooting up, taking a hit, tripping, and so on, any kind of justice. And, by justice I mean it is far worse in real life than on film.

It could be my weak stomach, it could be my sensitivity to self-destruction, it could be a number of things, but the first time we see someone actually shooting up in the film it’s very graphic and I felt like I was going to throw up. I don’t normally do that watching TV or films because I know it’s not real. But, the anxiety I felt from that first scene was intense. Don’t do that $#!+!!! I proclaimed, over and over again. Watching people messed up on drugs is something that I luckily haven’t had to see much if any in my life, but I don’t think I could handle it. I have much respect for the folks who deal with users and addicts, as it’s something that I don’t know that I could be part of. To the Kerri Siglers of the world and the rehab workers and anyone that’s had to watch someone, let alone family members, deal with addiction. You have my total respect.

“Needle Park” is actually called Sherman Square, a public space/park bounded by Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue, and West 70th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City. In the late-1960s/mid- to late-1970s, it was known as Needle Park because of the amount of drugs and users that could be found in the park. I believe it has since been cleaned up. The “Panic” is a drug reference when supply is low or endangered and that makes the users resort to violence, mostly against each other, in order to get a fix.

This was Pacino’s first real film lead, a year before The Godfather came out. Kitty Winn was in The Exorcist and Alan Vint was more of a supporting actor in many films and some television roles. The film is gritty and rough; at times hard to watch. I found that it became redundant and slightly boring the longer it went on. Rotten Tomatoes rates it at 80% Fresh with an Audience Score of 75%. IMDb has it at 7.1 stars out of 10. I saw this film on Netflix and I rate it 3.75 stars out of 5. Provocative at times but it started to lose steam the longer it went. Have you seen it? What did you think? What would you like to hear/read me review?

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“I ain’t no robber. I’m a prostitute.” – Irene